A lot has been happening in the real estate world this Feburary in Squamish and throughout the country. New mortgage rules which aim to limit risk for lenders and slow the pace of red hot real estate markets came into effect on February 15th 2015. The new rules stipulate that buyers purchasing a home between $500,000 - $1 million will need to put down a 10% deposit on the portion of the home over $500,000. This means amounts under $500,000 are still subject to a 5% minimum down payment but a home costing $750,000 for example, would require 5% on the initial $500,000 plus 10% on the remaining $250,000.

The BC Budget has announced tax exemption for buyers of new homes up to $750,000. Unlike the previous tax exemption for first-time buyers on homes up to $475,000, this new initiative will be available for all buyers purchasing a new home. On a $750,000 home, the exemption of the property transfer tax will see a savings of $13,000. Those purchasing homes over $2 million will see their property transfer tax increase from 2 to 3 percent.

Locally in Squamish we have seen a typical early spring increase in new listings coming on the market over the last couple weeks pleasing the stockpiles of active buyers in the region. In the last two weeks there has been an increase in listings coming on; and the pace is expected to continue as we move towards spring which is typically one of the busiest times of the year.

In recent weeks there have been announcements that the Squamish Oceanfront Development and Garibaldi at Squamish are getting closer to becoming a reality. The District of Squamish transferred a parcel of district land to a joint partnership developer with construction to commence on the oceanfront park phase of the development in the coming months. Garibaldi at Squamish was given environmental approval subject to forty conditions outlined by the Province; this is a major hurdled cleared by the four seasons resort. Find out more information about both these developments and others in the region.

Now is a great time to list your home for sale. Contact me for more information about what your home may be worth in today’s market.